Thiruvananthapuram, February 23 The ruling LDF and the opposition UDF engaged in a heated exchange in the Kerala Assembly over the Sabarimala gold theft case and the arrest of Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru, as the House reconvened after a brief break on Monday.
As soon as the question hour began, the Congress-led opposition informed Speaker A N Shamseer that they would not cooperate with the House proceedings due to the government's stance on various matters related to Sabarimala, including the gold theft case and the issue of women's entry.
Holding placards and chanting slogans demanding the resignation of Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan, the UDF members staged a protest in front of the Speaker's podium. Later, they sat in the well of the House and continued to chant slogans.
In the absence of Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, who is away on his ongoing "Navayuga Yatra", senior Congress legislator K Babu informed the House of their stance.
He criticized the government over the arrest of Tantri Rajeevaru without any evidence and highlighted the granting of bail to the accused in the case.
"Tantri was imprisoned for 40 days because he did not support the government's stance on the violation of rituals at Sabarimala," Babu alleged, referring to the women's entry issue in 2018.
He further pointed out that the alleged irregularities occurred during the Global Ayyappa Sangamam organized by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) with the support of the government.
The Tripunithura MLA also accused the government of adopting a "suspicious stance" on the women's entry issue when the matter was recently taken up by the Supreme Court again.
"Because of the government's stance on these matters, we have not been cooperating with the House proceedings for some time. We will also not cooperate today," he added.
However, Law Minister P Rajeev and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M B Rajesh strongly rejected the UDF's charges.
Rajeev said the opposition's remarks were against the observation of the High Court that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the Sabarimala gold theft case was progressing in the right direction.
"The UDF is continuing their agitation even after the High Court made it clear that the probe is progressing in the right direction. Therefore, the protest has a clear political agenda," he alleged.
Referring to the Ayodhya temple matter, the minister alleged that the Congress has paved the way for the BJP to use Hindutva and temple politics.
Though the BJP and the Congress have different names, both parties now represent the same politics and ideology, which is a threat to the secularism of Kerala, he said.
Rajeev said it is a High Court-monitored investigation, and the investigation report is being submitted to the court in a sealed cover, and the government has no role in it.
The opposition's allegations were against the High Court, and so it should be removed from the Assembly records, he added.
Minister Rajesh also vehemently criticized the Congress-led UDF over its support extended to Tantri and said the chief priest had no more privileges than the other accused in the case.
He also alleged that the opposition was expecting a "golden opportunity" to take the agitation to the streets again in the name of the Sabarimala tantri.
